Enoch prouty



(No Model.)

B. PROUTY. POWER TRANSMITTING DEVIOE.

Patented Dec. 30. 1890.

J71 verzfor: E7100} .E-au If],

UNITE STATES ll ATENT rrrcn.

ENOCII PROUTY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO OLIVE S.PROUTY, OF SAME PLACE.

POWER-TRANSMITTING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 443,608, dated December30, 1890. Application filed September 22, 1890. Serial No. 365,717. (Nomodel.)

the invention can be employed in actuating.

machinery of different kinds.

The object of the invention is to provide means in these transmittingdevices whereby the driven axle or shaft can be started gradually bypower from a continuously-moving motor.

Another object has been to adapt these transmitting devices to be gearedto a continuously-moving motor in such manner that they will nottransmit power except when it is desired that they should do so also, toremder them automatic in assuming the position wherein they are neutralor non-active; also, to so construct them that they will not accidentlyassume any operative position and start the car when that resultis notdesired.

The invention further consists in the novel devices and novelcombinations of parts and devices herein shown and described, and moreparticularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thisspecification,Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of astreet-car embodying my invention. Fig. 2 isa side elevation of thepower-transmitting devices detached. Fig. 3 is afront view of the partshown at Fig. 2.

Figs. 4 and 5 are detail sections on the lines- 4 4 and 5 5 of Fig. 3.Fig. 6 is asection upon the line 6 6 of Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a side andFig. 8 a front elevation of the clutch for acuating the axle.

In said drawings, A represents a car or vehicle, provided at its frontend with a motor B, the driving-shaft of such motor carryinga wheel I).

C is a vibrating lever pivoted stationarily at its lower end upon apivot 0, supported in a depending bracket D, attached to the car. Thepivot c is caused to secure] y hold thelever by reason of its enlargedend d,which is seated in the lever, as shown at Fig. 5. At its upper endsaid lever is joined to the motor-wheel Z) by a sliding connectionconsisting of a slide the motor-wheel will impart a vibrating motion tothe upper end of the lever C, and as the motor is intended to be runcontinuously the lever C will also be continuously vibrated. Extendingfrom the lower end of the lever,

or rather from a sliding box F mounted there- 6 5 on, is a pitman G,carrying motion to the caraxle or other shaft to be driven. This pitmanis adapted to communicate a slow movement or a'rapid one, .or one whichmay gradually increase in speed by reason of the changes in position ofwhich it is capable relative to the center on which the lever-Cvibrates. It is pivotally attached to the slid-- ing block by the pivotg, having an enlarged head f. The sliding block has a dovetail con- 7nection with the lever, and its position on said lever is changed atwill by the driver or attendant by mechanism which will now bedescribed.

Extending longitudinally of the car is abar II, supported in suitablebearings 72. and carrying at its end a rack 2', meshing with ahorizontal pinion J, mounted upon a hollow journal j. This shaft has anangular opening through it, as shown at Fig. 6, and this opening isadapted to receive a key K, through which the driver may turn the pinionJ and slide said bar II. The movement thus given to the bar II raises orlowers the sliding block F by means of the elbow-lever L, pivoteda't 0 mto the bracket D and connected to bar H by a pin M, working in the slotat of one end of the elbow-lever, and a pitman N, joined to the outerend of the elbow-lever and also to the block. Movement of the bar H tothe left 9 5 rocks the elbow-lever to the position indicated by brokenlines at Fig. 2 and lifts the sliding block to the position alsoindicated at I Fig. 2. In this elevated position, it will be at onceobserved, a considerable movement will too which come in contact withthe wheel.

after the wheels have been put on.

to without actuating the pitman G at all; further, that when the blockis in its lower opcrative position, while the stroke it imparts isshorter than in'its upper position, yet it is possessed of more powerthan in thelatter po- 15 sition, so that it is capable of giving to theaxle. what is desirable in all ear-startersviz., great power accompaniedwith slow motion. It will also be observed that should the attendantfail to move the bar II to its normal 20 position when the car is to bestopped, and

thereby bring the pivots c and g in register with each other, the weightof the sliding block F will cause it to move gradually down to itslowest position, and thus accomplish 25 automatically a cessation ofmotion of the parts actuated through the transmitting devices. Thegravity of the block also prevents any tendency to rise and bring aboutan operative condition, and thus renders some act 0 of the attendantnecessary in order to start the axle.

In conjunction with the variable transmitting devices above described,any appropriate clntch for communicating motion given to the 3 5 pitmanG to the car-axle (or other shaft) may be employed 5 but I prefer to usea clutch upon -iiach'of the car-axles and to gear the clutches togetherin such manner that each will be aeting when the other is moving backfora fresh I also prefer the construction of clutch particularlyillustrated at Figs. 7 and 8.

I mount upon the axle O or other shaft a grooved wheel P, the groovebeing formed with sloping sides 17 and an inner vertical- 5 sidedportion 0, and employ with such groovewheel a pawl Q, which ispreferably formed of a triangular piece of metal with its lower edgebeveled oil and a central slit q adapted to give a slight amount ofspring to its edges The pawl conforms to the groove of the wheel, asshown at Fig. 8, and when forced into contact therewith the slit in thepawl allows the sides of the latter to yield slightly and admit the 5 5pawl a greater distance within the groove, so

as to permit a stronger hold than could be obtained were the pawl solidat this point.

The friction-wheel P is made in severable halves, so that it may besecured to the axle It is provided with a hub 19 at either side,likewise made in halves and carrying ears p, whereby the two halves ofthe wheel and hub may be bolted together. The wheel is keyed to theshaft, as shown at p.

The pawl is made wide at its operating end in order to prevent itsriding past the crown of the wheel, and also to enable it to operate ateither side of the wheel-crown and actuate the wheel in eitherdirection, as desired. It is connected to the pitman G by the wrist-pin1, but is loose upon said pin, so that its position maybe controlled bythe spring S, which is joined at one end to the arm R and at the otherend to an arm 8, pivotally supported in an upward exterior s of thepawl. Said arm R is supported from the hub of wheel P and serves in turnto support the wrist-pin. This support It may also be made in parts, soas to be boltedin position and removed at pleasure. It is loose upon thewheel-hub, and of course supports the wrist-pin without being rigidtherewith. Stops .sare provided upon the exteriors to limit the downwardmovement of the arms. In the position shown at Fig. 7 the spring exertsa pull upon arm .9 and tends to throw the operating end of the pawl tothe right, and the pawl in this position is adapted to engage the wheelupon the left side and cause the rotation of the latter in the directionindicated by the arrow. The rcciprocations of the pitman G will newforce the pawl into contact with the wheel at each of its movements inone direction, and in its movements in the opposite direction will carrythe pawl back to enable it to take a fresh hold.

The spring S determines the inclination of the pawl and the side of thewheel which shall be engaged, and hence I make the arm a so that it maybe reversed to the position shown in broken lines in Fig.7, and thuscause the spring to pull in the opposite direction and incline the pawlto act upon the otherside of the wheel. This reversal is brought aboutby means of a shifting-rod 'l, carrying trips 25 t and actuated by thecar-driver by means of the shaft. K, which may be placed in the hollowof pinion it when the car is to be reversed. Pinion u meshes with therack V upon said rod. One of the tri 'istencounters with each movementof the rod a pin it, carried by the crank mounted upon the shaft of arm8 at each actuation of: said shiftingrod and reverses the arm s.

The car is preferably provided with means for actuating the rods II andT at each end, so that the driver can stand on either platform and stillretain control of the transmitting devices. Anti-friction rollers y maybe used to keep the bar ll up against the pinion J, as shown at Fig. (3.

In order to gain a forward impulse at the rear axle while the pawl atthe front axle is moving back for a fresh hold, I provide the rear axlewith aclutch, which may be similar to that already described, andconnect said clutch by means of a pitman G to a downward extension It ofthe arm R upon theforward axle. As the arm R moves with the pitman G theextension R will communicate similar reciprocations to pitman G,reverse, however, in direction. Consequently when the pawl of theforward clutch is actuating the forward axle, the rear wheel will bemoving back preparatory to a new hold, and when the forward clutch ismoving back, the rear clutch will be actuating its axle, and hence theforward impulse will be continuous, or nearly so, the actuatioussucceeding each other so rapidly as to render the power nearlycontinuous. This feature will also be found advantageous in starting thecar, because there will be no perceptible interruptions in thetransmission of power to the axles, one axle beginning to receive motiveforce as soon as the power has ceased at the other.

The trips t are preferably pivoted to rod T, as indicated, so thatshould they by any means pass beyond or get over the pin to they willride freely on it, and when they have passed beyond it will fall totheposition indicated. They are sustained in the latter position by thestops t.

The reversing of the car can only be accomplished by taking out the keyK from sleeve j and inserting it in sleeve of pinion u, so that thedriver is not likely to reverse his motive power through fright orabsent-mindedness while the car is in motion.

The operation of the invention will be fully apparent from what has beenalready written.

The key K carries a ratchet 2, and a pawl 3 is provided to engage thisratchet. By this means when the key has been operated to raise the slidethe parts may be lockedin po sition to which they have been moved,thereby retaining the slide in any operative position desired. Byreleasing the pawl the slide will quickly return to its lowermostposition by gravity and discontinue the motion at the axle.

I claim- 1. The combination, with the motor and the axle or shaft to bedriven, of a vertical lever pivoted at its lower end and vibrated by themotor at its upper end, a slide movable vertically on said lever aboveits pivot and mechanically connected to the axle or shaft, and means forraising said slide when it is desired to start or increase the speed,the gravity of said slide tending to depress and retain it in itsneutral position, substantially as specified.

2. The combination, with a car-axle, of the motor, the vibrating leveractuated by the motor, the slide upon the lever, the clutch upon theaxle, the pitman connecting said slide and clutch, the slottedelbow-lever, the pitman joining said elbow-lever to the slide, and thelongitudinal bar H for swinging said elbow-lever, substantially asspecified.

3. The combination, with the vibrating lever and the slide mountedthereon, of the slotted and pivoted elbow-lever L, pitman N, bar H, andmeans for actuating said bar at will, substantially as specified.

4. The combination, with the motor, the vibrating lever, and the movableslide, of a pitman and clutch carrying power to the first axle, and asecond pitman and clutch connecting the first axle with the second axle,substantially as speeified.-

5. The combination, with the motor, the vibrating lever, and the movableslide, of a pitman and clutch carrying power to the first axle, and asecond pitman and clutch connecting the first axle with the second axle,said clutches alternating with each other in actuating their respectiveaxles, substantially as specified.

6. The combination, with the motor, vibrating lever, and movable slide,of a pitman and clutch carrying power to the first axle, and a secondpitman and clutch deriving power from the clutch of the first axle andcommunicating powerto the second axle, substantially as specified.

7. In a car, the combination, with the axles, of the motor andpowertransmitting devices having a clutch-connection to one axle,apitman G, receiving power from said clutchconnection, and a clutchactuated by said pitman at the other axle, substantially as specified.

8. The combination, with the axles, of a clutch mechanism at one axle,having a support It and extension R, a pitman connected to saidextension R, and a clutch at the other axle actuated by said pitman,substantially as specified.

9. The combination, with the reversible pawl, of the arm .9, pivoted tothe pawl, the spring-connection S, the trips for reversing said arm, anda shifting-bar for moving the trips, substantially as specified.

10. The combination, in a clutch, with a friction-wheel having a groovewith inclined sides 19, of an inner vertical-sided portion 0, and a pawlshaped to trip said inclined sides and having a vertical slit q,substantially as specified.

11. The combination, in a clutch, of a friction-wheel P, having agroove, with awide pawl Q fitting said groove and adapted to act on thewheel in either direction at will, substantially as specified.

ENOCI-I PROUTY.

Witnesses:

H. M. MUNDAY, EDW. S. EVARTS.

